Container for lawn refuse and method for gathering lawn refuse

ABSTRACT

Portable container that can be filled with material and moved to another location at which the container is emptied of the material in accordance with the invention includes a wall-defining structure defining an interior receivable of the material and including at least one side wall and a bottom wall. A flat wall portion of the side wall(s) has a substantially planar outer surface and a remaining portion has a substantially arcuate shape. A pair of handles are arranged on the side wall(s). By providing the flat wall portion on the side wall, the container can be leaned against the ground while maximizing contact between the container and the ground. This maximal contact improves the transfer or movement of clippings and other debris from a pile thereof into the container when the container is leaned alongside the pile.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/211,407 filed Mar. 30, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a container or pail that facilitates the gathering of lawn clippings, refuse or other debris and a method for gathering lawn clippings, refuse and other debris using the container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When mowing lawns or performing other tasks on grass, other types of groundcover, shrubs and trees, the clippings and debris from the grass, shrubs and trees fall to the ground and must be gathered to be disposed of. Usually, the clippings are raked into piles and each pile is then moved into a cylindrical container by leaning the cylindrical container against the ground alongside the pile and pushing the clippings in the pile into the container, e.g., using a rake or other garden tool.

There are significant drawbacks to the use of such cylindrical containers. First, the container, by virtue of its cylindrical form, can only be lean along a small portion of its circumference against the ground and therefore does not have any meaningful portion that lies flush with the ground. As such, when the pile of clippings is moved into the container, a not insignificant portion of the clippings is inevitably moved between the container and the ground and thus not into the container. This portion must be re-gathered into a pile and then moved into the container resulting in additional work.

Yet another drawback is that such containers are often transported alongside flat panels or flat sides of trailers. Usually, a semi-circular bracket is attached to the flat side of the trailer and the container is placed between the bracket and the flat side of the trailer. This does not provide a secure placement of the container on the trailer since, by virtue of the cylindrical form of the container, only a small edge of the container is urged by the bracket against the flat side of the trailer and thus the container is able to move during movement of the trailer and might even fall off the trailer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A portable container in accordance with the invention overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above. The portable container includes a wall-defining structure defining an interior receivable of the material and including at least one side wall and a bottom wall. A flat wall portion of the side wall(s) has a substantially planar outer surface and a remaining portion has a substantially arcuate shape. A pair of handles are arranged on the side wall(s). The container can be filled with material and moved to another location at which the container is emptied of the material.

By providing the flat wall portion on the side wall(s), the container can be leaned against the ground while maximizing contact between the container and the ground. This maximal contact improves the transfer or movement of clippings and other debris from a pile thereof into the container when the container is leaned alongside the pile.

Accordingly, a method for gathering lawn clippings and other debris in accordance with the invention includes providing a portable container as described above, leaning the container against the ground alongside the clippings or debris such that the flat wall portion is flush with the ground, moving the clippings or debris into the container over the flat wall portion, and when the interior of the container is at a desired level or full or after the clippings or debris have all been moved into the container, lifting the container upward to thereby retain the clippings or debris in the container.

The upward lifting of the container may be achieved by tilting the container and/or by grasping the handles and lifting the container by the handles.

To clean a lawn of accumulated clippings or other debris, the clippings or debris are moved into piles and the container is successively leaned alongside each pile and each pile is then moved in succession into the container. When full, the container may be emptied and then used again.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B show, respectively, the position of a container in accordance with the invention and a prior art cylindrical container in a position of use; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of a container in accordance with the invention show in a transport position against a flat side of a trailer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a portable container in accordance with the invention is designated generally as 10 and includes a wall-defining structure 12 defining an interior 14 receivable of refuse or debris such as lawn clippings.

Container 10 is designed to be portable and moved between a location at which the clippings are moved into the interior 14 of the container 10 and a disposal location at which the clippings are dumped or otherwise removed from the interior 14 of the container 10, e.g., a trailer. To this end, the material(s) from which the container 10 is made may be lightweight materials, e.g., plastic, and the size of the container 10 is selected so that when full of lawn clippings or debris, it can still be lifted and handled by an average person, or possibly two average people.

The wall-defining structure 12 may include a single, monolithic wall formed in a desired shape or a plurality of walls attached or bonded together to form the desired shape of the container. In either case, the wall-defining structure 12 includes at least one side wall 16 and a bottom wall 18. The exterior surface of the side wall 16 and/or bottom wall 18 may be provided with ridges, grooves, a design, and/or any other decorative element.

Also, a pair of handles 20 are formed on the side wall 16, e.g., in a position opposite one another, to enable the container 10 to be easily lifted by grasping the handles 20.

An important feature of the container 10 is the presence of a flat wall portion 22 having a substantially planar outer surface on the side wall 16. A remaining portion 24 of the side wall 16 has a generally arcuate shape. Therefore, a cross-sectional shape of the container 10 would be as shown in FIG. 2A. The arcuate portion 24 may be formed as part of a circle (i.e. equidistant from a center axis), part of an oval, part of an ellipse or have any other curved form.

The flat wall portion 22 has a width of from about 4 inches to about 24 inches, but this width range is not critical. The width of the flat wall portion 22 may be a function of the diameter of the container 10, e.g., a width of from about 10% to about 90% of the diameter of the container 10, but this percentage is not critical.

The presence of the flat wall portion 22 on container 10 provides significant advantages over prior art cylindrical containers. For example, the container 10 can be leaned against the ground along the side wall portion 22 and provide a significantly larger area that is flush with the ground (see FIG. 2A) than provided by a prior art cylindrical container 26 (see FIG. 2B). As such, clippings can be moved into the container 10 with greater efficiency and less likelihood of clippings being moved between the container and the ground and not into the container. Note that the areas in FIG. 2B between the container 26 and the ground, designated 36, are not present in FIG. 2A and the presence of these areas 36 results in clippings being moved under the prior art container and not into it.

Another advantage of container 10 arises during the transport of the container 10 on a trailer 28 having a flat side 30 and a semi-circular bracket 32 that defines a recess 34 into which the container 10 can be placed (see FIG. 3). By positioning the container 10 such that the flat wall portion 22 is against the flat side 30 of the trailer 28, the container 10 is held much more securely against the trailer 28 than a cylindrical container would be as a result of the larger contact between the container 10 and the trailer 28. The container 10 is therefore less likely to move around and less likely to fall off of the trailer 28.

The uses of the container 10 described above are merely examples of the manner in which the container 10 may be used, and specifically use for which it is particularly suited. Nevertheless, it is envisioned that the container 10 may be used to gather other types of refuse and debris other than lawn clippings and debris and may be used in other ways than as described above. Further, the container 10 may be transported in other ways than as described above, whether making use of the particular cross-sectional shape of the container 10 or not.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but include any and all embodiments with in the scope of the following claims. While the invention has been described above with respect to specific implementations, it should be clear that various modifications and alterations can be made within the scope of the present invention. 

1. A portable container that can be filled with material and moved to another location at which the container is emptied of the material, comprising: a wall-defining structure defining an interior receivable of the material, said wall-defining structure including at least one side wall and a bottom wall, said at least one side wall including a flat wall portion having a substantially planar outer surface and a remaining portion of said at least one side wall having a substantially arcuate shape.
 2. The container of claim 1, further comprising a pair of handles arranged on said at least one side wall.
 3. The container of claim 2, wherein said handles are arranged opposite one another.
 4. A method for gathering lawn clippings or other debris, comprising: providing a portable container having a wall-defining structure defining an interior receivable of the clippings or debris, the wall-defining structure including at least one side wall and a bottom wall, the at least one side wall including a flat wall portion having a substantially planar outer surface and a remaining portion of the at least one side wall having a substantially arcuate shape; leaning the container against the ground alongside the clippings or debris such that the flat wall portion is flush with the ground; moving the clippings or debris into the container over the flat wall portion; and when the interior of the container is at a desired level or full or after the clippings or debris have all been moved into the container, lifting the container upward to thereby retain the clippings or debris in the container.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of lifting the container upward comprises tilting the container.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the container is provided with handles and the step of lifting the container upward comprises grasping the handles and lifting the container by the handles.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: moving the clippings or debris into a plurality of piles; and successively leaning the container alongside each pile and moving each pile into the container.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of moving the clippings or debris into the container over the flat wall portion comprises raking the clippings or debris into the container. 